Samsung Galaxy S3 - its out

I have the international unlocked GSIII; whatever the Swype-variant keyboard it has is terrible - a noticeable downgrade from the Swype implementation in the MK-1 Galaxy S. Are there any free Swype-a-like keyboards people recommend ?

I guess it'a possibly that it varies per carrier, but for the TMobile SGH-T9999, the default KB is most definitely (an older version of)FlexT9, called "Samsung Keyboard". FlexT9 and Swype are extremely similar, they were both made by the same company, and are now owned by Nuance. Why they have two of pretty much the same thing is unknowable, but these are the same people to stupid to sell their product in the market.

That very well could be, but I think Tmobile is the exception to the rule. Definitely agreed as to why they're not charging for their excellent product(s).

ChrisG wrote:

I have the international unlocked GSII; whatever the Swype-variant keyboard it has is terrible - a noticeable downgrade from the Swype implementation in the MK-1 Galaxy S. Are there any free Swype-a-like keyboards people recommend ?

FlexT9. Going from my Inc with Flex to the default 'samsung keyboard' initially was pretty jarring. It's nice that they have a swype keyboard installed at all, but FlexT9 or the current beta version of Swype directly from them are VASTLY SURPERIOR.

I have the international unlocked GSII; whatever the Swype-variant keyboard it has is terrible - a noticeable downgrade from the Swype implementation in the MK-1 Galaxy S. Are there any free Swype-a-like keyboards people recommend ?

Just sign up for the Swype beta and use it. While it's still more annoying to install than it should be, it's a lot easier than it used to be.

IIRC, the SIII does indeed have Gorilla Glass, and in that case, it shouldn't really be necessary to cover up the screen. My old GSI survived nearly 2 years in my front denims pocket with the occasional coin, and it's still nearly mint condition. You want a case to cover the sides, the back and the edges to protect it from drops, but the screen itself should be very rugged.

Have you guys put screen protectors on your phones? I have a rock case (which is kinda cool looking) but a bare front. Isn't this phone gorilla glass? Would it still be necessary?

I never do and haven't had a single scratch in recent memory. You pretty much have to work at scratching it, doing something like keeping it in your pocket with keys, or sliding it screen down across something with a lot of pressure.

Just sign up for the Swype beta and use it. While it's still more annoying to install than it should be, it's a lot easier than it used to be.

I have to say the Swype beta is nice - like, Holy Shit-levels of nice. I'd pay for the full version of this. It's so much better than the GSIII's built in version it would be hilarious if it didn't get in the way of actually using the phone.

Am considering getting the S3 as my first Android phone. Was about to start my own thread, but mught as well piggyback on this one...

First couple of questions: 1) How usable is it in bright sunlight? Where I live we get ~320 bright sunny days a year. With an incoming call, is it easy to make out who's calling & hit the answer button?

I'm a little concerned since I played with a store demo under fluorescent lighting for 45min. On the auto-brightness setting, virtually all screens/apps were too dim, and I needed to crank things up to 80% manual brightness for comfort. That doesn't leave a lot of headroom for handling bright sunlight, not to mention what it would do to battery life.

2) Are people actually getting 1.5 days on a battery charge on moderate use like the reviews are saying ?

And yes, the keyboard, at least on the Verizon SGS3, is definitely FlexT9. It even tells you on initial setup what it is.

The display in bright sunlight is so-so. Anandtech measures it at 277~318 nits vs. 400 to 500+ nits for some of the brighter phones. (my internal debate between the Incredible 4G and the SGS3 is strong, I'm highly tempted to grab the Inc4G because it is smaller and more usable outdoors-- but crap, the 1280x720 is very pretty...).

I do find the auto-brightness keeps things too dark sometimes. Maybe half the time it's because I realize I was shading the ambient light sensor (happens a lot when rotated to landscape mode), the other half the time I dunno if it's a software bug or what.

On light use I could see 1.5 days worth of use, but I generally find that by the end of the work day with moderate-medium use I am down to 40% or less, which is better than my old Incredible (the OG) one did by a decent margin, but still not the best.

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Anyone running into the browser routinely going back to a darker setting, despite manually setting it to level 1 or default? Autobrightness is off.

On the auto-brightness setting, virtually all screens/apps were too dim, and I needed to crank things up to 80% manual brightness for comfort.

With OLEDs black is always black, so some people keep turning up the brightness expecting to get a washed out look like LCDs. Auto-brightness seems to sit at about 40% most of the time (it's not a very good auto-brightness algorithm), which is great in any indoor light I have been in.

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Are people actually getting 1.5 days on a battery charge on moderate use like the reviews are saying ?

Depends greatly on what "moderate use" means to you, and you personal signal situation, but that's possible. It's still a charge once a day device, but you could stretch that a few hours if you forget. I'm usually at about 35-45% when I plug it in before going to sleep.

The display in bright sunlight is so-so. Anandtech measures it at 277~318 nits vs. 400 to 500+ nits for some of the brighter phones. (my internal debate between the Incredible 4G and the SGS3 is strong, I'm highly tempted to grab the Inc4G because it is smaller and more usable outdoors-- but crap, the 1280x720 is very pretty...).

Do you recall where you saw the nit numbers on Anandtech? The link you gave is for the HTC Incredible. Only place I've found numbers for the S3 is here, which looks a bit low; other places mention ~500 nits for the iPhone 4/4S and 500+ for the HTC One X. My spouse's iPhone 4S has good (not excellent) sunlight visibility, so I'm a bit concerned about sunlight with a device which is apparently significantly dimmer. Opinions re usability in sunlight from actual users appear to vary between "so-so" and "illegible", just like here; same with photos in various reviews.

I may need to wait until I can find someone who has one and actually see what it looks like in the sun.While I don't spend most of my time outside, I come across the problem every day or two with my physical-keypad Nokia: I can't see who's calling, but since there's a dedicated physical "answer" button I can at least answer the phone when it's ringing.

Hmm... Is there a way to customize the physical home button so a double- or triple-tap would increases brightness to max?

Xavin wrote:

With OLEDs black is always black, so some people keep turning up the brightness expecting to get a washed out look like LCDs. Auto-brightness seems to sit at about 40% most of the time (it's not a very good auto-brightness algorithm), which is great in any indoor light I have been in.

I was trying to get to comfortable viewing of text (email, the OS menus), which based on my brief experience seemed to need 60%-80% brightness, depending on the app -- I actually care very little about color reproduction, as I don't expect to watch video or do anything beyond minimal web browsing on the phone.

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Are people actually getting 1.5 days on a battery charge on moderate use like the reviews are saying ?

Depends greatly on what "moderate use" means to you, and you personal signal situation, but that's possible. It's still a charge once a day device, but you could stretch that a few hours if you forget. I'm usually at about 35-45% when I plug it in before going to sleep.

That sounds reasonable -- a full day under normal use + a few hours grace (unless I need to keep it at high brightness levels a lot fo the time...) since the battery swappable, I'll also carry a charged spare along.

Do you recall where you saw the nit numbers on Anandtech? The link you gave is for the HTC Incredible.

It's in the HTC Incredible 4G review, check the charts-- the SGS3 is listed. Anandtech also has a separate SGS3 review.

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Opinions re usability in sunlight from actual users appear to vary between "so-so" and "illegible", just like here; same with photos in various reviews.

Hell just walking to the office this morning, the screen was almost impossible to read in direct sunlight.

edit: BTW, the GPS... is... not as good as I was hoping. It holds signal and is more accurate on my runs than my old HTC Incredible, but signal acquisition is very uneven. In clear skies it's quick, but in even remotely blocked skies (70% clear, 30% obstructed) it goes totally to hell, whereas my old Incredible would still lock on fairly quickly and accurately.

Watching the GPS status app on the SGS3 in partially obstructed skies shows a ton (the whole row is full! So 20ish satellites?) of microscopically short yellow bars for satellites showing it thinks they're there, but getting the bars into the tall green range indicating actual lock takes forever, if it happens at all. Given that the GPS antenna is at the top of the case and my hand is NOT blocking it... this is weird. My old Incredible would show fewer satellites (10?) but lock up much quicker in less than ideal conditions.

Do you recall where you saw the nit numbers on Anandtech? The link you gave is for the HTC Incredible.

It's in the HTC Incredible 4G review, check the charts-- the SGS3 is listed. Anandtech also has a separate SGS3 review.

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Opinions re usability in sunlight from actual users appear to vary between "so-so" and "illegible", just like here; same with photos in various reviews.

Hell just walking to the office this morning, the screen was almost impossible to read in direct sunlight.

edit: BTW, the GPS... is... not as good as I was hoping. It holds signal and is more accurate on my runs than my old HTC Incredible, but signal acquisition is very uneven. In clear skies it's quick, but in even remotely blocked skies (70% clear, 30% obstructed) it goes totally to hell, whereas my old Incredible would still lock on fairly quickly and accurately.

Watching the GPS status app on the SGS3 in partially obstructed skies shows a ton (the whole row is full! So 20ish satellites?) of microscopically short yellow bars for satellites showing it thinks they're there, but getting the bars into the tall green range indicating actual lock takes forever, if it happens at all. Given that the GPS antenna is at the top of the case and my hand is NOT blocking it... this is weird. My old Incredible would show fewer satellites (10?) but lock up much quicker in less than ideal conditions.

I get damn near immediate lock. Well under 10 seconds to within 4 metres. No problems here and faster than my DINC 2.

Hmm... interesting. Driving around last night, soon as I hit a turn under a freeway underpass, my SGS3 immediately freaked and placed me about 100 feet further down the road than I actually was (not so useful when it forced navigation to re-route... stupid).

Hit the ramp, once it climbed all the way back up to freeway level, it was fine. This was in the middle of Los Angeles, which is bloody dumb...

FWIW for those asking about battery life, mine's been off the charger for 8 or 9 hours with two meetings on it (moderate use) and about 30 minutes of GPS use during today's run, and it's down to 48%. Should make it home just fine, but if I were to go out tonight, I'd definitely want to charge it over dinner...

Surprisingly, I found a local store that specializes in Android (they only carry Android handsets, tablets & accessories), and carries the major brands & models. They were fine with me taking phones outside the store, so I was able to check out the sunlight issue in person. I was also able compare it side-by-side to the HTC One X, whose LCD screen according to virtually everything I'd read is much brighter in general and a bit better in sunlight.As i turned out, I found the S3 screen actually much more visible in sunlight than the One X's. This held both when both phones were on auto-brightness (the HTC was virtually illegible, while the S3 was dim-ish but OK) and on manual brightness (80% for the S3, 100% for the HTC -- both were completely legible, but the S3 was much better). Also significantly , in terms of glare, the vertical viewing angle mattered a bit on the S3, but very much on the HTC: out of say a 60-degree potential viewing angle (in terms of comfortably holding in one's hand when standing), the S3 was visible for 50deg, but the HTC, when at all legible, only for 20deg or so.

I'm probably going to rule out the HTC at this point -- beyond the sunlight issue, the S3 has a SD slot and a removable battery, and over here, the Galaxy series is a very big seller, so service & support will be better (34% marketshare in smartphones vs. 1% for HTC in total; Samsung even outsells Apple, which has a 32% share). The only thing the HTC has going for it is it's $170 cheaper than the 32GB version of the S3.

Some more questions about the S3:1) Is there full-text search on all fields of the Contacts & Calendar records, using the standard built-in apps?

a) I prefer a direct Mac <--> handset sync solution that doesn't require using Google Calendar or Google Contacts as intermediate steps.If anyone here is doing this, what software do you use? How well does it work? There's an app SyncMate (with components both on the Mac & the phone) that claims to do this.

b) If I end up needing to sync via Google Contacts/Calendars, I've read that previous Android verisons would sometimes sync only 30-60 days' worth of calendar events. Has this been fixed in the S3? If not, any simple solutions? I have ~14 years worth of calendar data, and need it to be fully accessible.

3) How is the Exchange Server support when using the native email client with S-Planner? (accepting/rejecting meeting requests on the phone, originating meeting requests etc.)Otherwise, what calendar/email app combos are people using for this?

4) Again for Mac users, how do you sync with iTunes (non-DRMed music)?With what software? I've heard the Samsung-provided Kies utility doesn't work very well on Macs.

5) Syncing with iPhoto. Ditto.

6) Generic file transfer. I've read that ICS no longer supports the USB Mass Storage device class, an issue since Macs don't support the alternative PTP class. a) Is there a way to do this with USB connections?b) Can this be circumvented by using WiFi or Bluetooth (e.g., the Mac's native File Exchange app?)

7) Backup. Is there a good, simple solution for completely backing up/restoring the S3 onto a Mac, like iTunes does for iPhones? Preferably without rooting the phone.

I'm considering a new phone and the S3 is on my list, but I have a question on the version of phone to get.

I'm looking at either the unlocked AT&T version or one of the unlocked international versions available from various importers.

From what I can tell, the AT&T version will have double the RAM of the INTL version, however, the INTL version comes with a quad core processor compared to the AT&T dual core processor. Other than that, I can't discern any other differences between the two units.

So if I were to go with an S3 which is better to have, double the RAM or double the cores?

That's not a very good way to try and go about it. The default Android apps are basically a viewer for your Google account info. That's really good in that you just log into a new device and your stuff is there, and a lost or broken phone means you don't lose anything, but if you are anti-Google for some reason, you are going to have to work to find solutions. It's Android so you can replace it all, but I don't know the apps that you would want.

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How is the Exchange Server support when using the native email client with S-Planner? (accepting/rejecting meeting requests on the phone, originating meeting requests etc.)Otherwise, what calendar/email app combos are people using for this?

Most people use third party apps if you want to really use it. I like Touchdown.

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Generic file transfer.

I don't know about Macs specifically, but I think I have heard people can get the new method to work. You can get apps like Astro File Manager that will browse your network, and if you root it you can run an SMB daemon on the phone itself, so it shows up on your network like any other computer sharing files.

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Backup. Is there a good, simple solution for completely backing up/restoring the S3 onto a Mac, like iTunes does for iPhones? Preferably without rooting the phone.

No. First, some of it is either stored in the cloud or backed up there, like contects, calendar, wi-fi settings, etc. Without rooting you can copy the sdcard (an anacronysm at this point, but the user file area) stuff manually to back up, which will get large files. Most apps that have detailed configurations can import/export their settings to the sdcard area now, too. If you root you can use Titanium Backup to backup all the data partition data and all your apps, that's all your settings and stuff too. You can also use a custom recovery to just image the whole device.

Backing up without root is still a bit of an issue on Android, but for most people the default is good enough, as most of their stuff lives in the cloud now anyway.

So if I were to go with an S3 which is better to have, double the RAM or double the cores?

I can't verify that the radios and stuff all work equivalently, but I can say that my TMobile one (basically the same as the ATT one) is lightning fast, and it regularly uses over 1GB RAM. I suspect that at least for my usage (no games, lots of apps open and switching around), the RAM makes it faster even if the CPU is technically slower, since it has to re-initialize apps less.

One thing to keep in mind, the international version is basically a completely different device as far as community ROMs and stuff is concerned. They both seem to be popular, but there will likely be some stuff that doesn't cross over one way or the other, and you have to make sure that things are actually for your device.

So if I were to go with an S3 which is better to have, double the RAM or double the cores?

I can't verify that the radios and stuff all work equivalently, but I can say that my TMobile one (basically the same as the ATT one) is lightning fast, and it regularly uses over 1GB RAM. I suspect that at least for my usage (no games, lots of apps open and switching around), the RAM makes it faster even if the CPU is technically slower, since it has to re-initialize apps less.

One thing to keep in mind, the international version is basically a completely different device as far as community ROMs and stuff is concerned. They both seem to be popular, but there will likely be some stuff that doesn't cross over one way or the other, and you have to make sure that things are actually for your device.

The first thing I checked was compatibility with Straight Talk (AT&T MVNO) and according to everything I've read the INTL version works fully in the U.S. on the AT&T network.

Regarding the ROM's I just started reading about that and from what I've found, there are more ROM's and the product is updated more frequently on the INTL side. Of course a lot of that is anecdotal evidence from a few cell phone related forums I came across. Even then, I don't know that I plan on doing much, if any, ROM updating. I'm not all that familiar with it being a long time iPhone user.

I'm probably more interested in your RAM comment. My wife's Android phone is one of the cheaper ones and only came with a core RAM of 256MB and a 2GB SD card. I found rather quickly that 256MB of core memory was way too small. Her phone gives out of memory errors pretty much once a week. I was hoping that 1GB of core memory would be enough but it sounds like from your usage its not too uncommon to go over it.

Regarding the ROM's I just started reading about that and from what I've found, there are more ROM's and the product is updated more frequently on the INTL side. Of course a lot of that is anecdotal evidence from a few cell phone related forums I came across.

I have used it a few times since getting the phone at launch, and ironically, it worked every time except when I read his comment and fired it up to see if it worked in my office (it doesn't). It's worked in my car every time I have tried, and in a few apartment buildings.

Been playing with my phone more... fired up my old HTC Incredible last night. Inside the bedroom it locked on instantly, as expected. Much to my surprise the SGS3 did so as well.

Of course, I get to work this morning, the SGS3 locks on fine with clear overhead view in the parking lot, but I check again as I get to the loading dock (which is maybe 50% obstructed with very tall trees) and it won't lock. sigh.

I have used it a few times since getting the phone at launch, and ironically, it worked every time except when I read his comment and fired it up to see if it worked in my office (it doesn't). It's worked in my car every time I have tried, and in a few apartment buildings.

That's not a very good way to try and go about it. The default Android apps are basically a viewer for your Google account info.

Hmm, from what I read the only thing that requires a Google account is access to Google's Android app store; the S-Planner & contacts app I played with in the store behaved like standard local-info apps I'm familiar with on other platforms, and didn't seem like they required an account or had any online features enabled by default.

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if you are anti-Google for some reason, you are going to have to work to find solutions. It's Android so you can replace it all, but I don't know the apps that you would want.

At the risk of slightly digressing here...I'm not anti-everything-Google; I use Gmail accounts as my main personal accounts (though not the Web interface), Web search, Google Maps etc., as well as commercial paid Google solutions for work. However, I'm not a fan of cloud-computing-for-everything trend (and Apple is moving there just as quickly as Google is),especially for PIM-type info.

I prefer the master copy of my data to be local, under my control; not so much because of security/privacy concerns, but because that way things are much more stable. That way there are no surprises when/if the cloud owner decides to upgrade/change their API or data formats, & I decide when / if I want to change how things are stored or synced.In my long history with sync solutions (for a variety of desktop & mobile platforms as well as online solutions), most of them had lots of issues over long-term use with database consistency/reliability -- for calendar as well as contacts. IME a 2-step sync process always caused a extra trouble, as there are many more ways that stuff can get corrupted/cut off / mis-converted, which is why I'd really like to avoid it.

The setup I have now isn't perfect by any means, but has been the most reliable I've used so far (Mac iCal/Address Book <--> Symbian phone via iSync), including stuff like changing/deleting a single occurrence of a recurring event), so I'm trying to keep as close to it as I can.

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How is the Exchange Server support when using the native email client with S-Planner? (accepting/rejecting meeting requests on the phone, originating meeting requests etc.)Otherwise, what calendar/email app combos are people using for this?

Most people use third party apps if you want to really use it. I like Touchdown.

Thanks for the pointer, I'll have a look; not a heavy Exchange user, but Exchange email does have to work, and it would be nice being able to respond to & originate meeting reqs on the phone itself (if possible, in the same app).

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Generic file transfer.

I don't know about Macs specifically, but I think I have heard people can get the new method to work. You can get apps like Astro File Manager that will browse your network, and if you root it you can run an SMB daemon on the phone itself, so it shows up on your network like any other computer sharing files.

I'll look into that as well, thanks. The user-invisible filesystem is one of the things I dislike about iOS.

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Backup. Is there a good, simple solution for completely backing up/restoring the S3 onto a Mac, like iTunes does for iPhones? Preferably without rooting the phone.

No. First, some of it is either stored in the cloud or backed up there, like contects, calendar, wi-fi settings, etc. Without rooting you can copy the sdcard (an anacronysm at this point, but the user file area) stuff manually to back up, which will get large files. Most apps that have detailed configurations can import/export their settings to the sdcard area now, too. If you root you can use Titanium Backup to backup all the data partition data and all your apps, that's all your settings and stuff too. You can also use a custom recovery to just image the whole device.

Backing up without root is still a bit of an issue on Android, but for most people the default is good enough, as most of their stuff lives in the cloud now anyway.[/quote]I'll look into that as well. I don't intend to root the phone initially -- all the key functionality has to work well & reliably on the standard phone, as I will be relying on it. After a while, when I'm more familiar with the platform, that may be an option.

Thanks for the pointer, I'll have a look; not a heavy Exchange user, but Exchange email does have to work, and it would be nice being able to respond to & originate meeting reqs on the phone itself (if possible, in the same app).

Even the basic native Exchange app isn't too bad. Not 100% sure on its functionality (heck I've only had the phone now for... a week? Two weeks?) tho.

As far as rooting, the SGS3 is so easy to root it's ridiculous. I agree, the fact that you have to root it to get an easy full backup sucks, but if you're not too opposed to it, it IS a damned easy process.

I'm shopping for an S3 atm, should get an OK to buy next week. In the meantime, I read that the Galaxy S3 is available to new Sprint customers for $99 on contract through amazon's wireless store. (Read that on the Verge). It's still $199 at AT&T, although i"m being tempted by AT&T's $99 One X as well.

Actually reading a few bad things about the One X recently. Seems some versions of it get pretty damn hot, and there were/are quality control issues with some of the initial models - overheating causing wifi hardware to go screwy, for example. Also a lot of complaints about scratched or cracked camera lenses, and flimsy upper edges on the casing. Some of this could probably be avoided (or in the case of overheating, excacerbated) by using a case of some kind, but the GS3 doesn't seem to have these complaints so far.

I used a S3 (verizon) a bit yesterday, and I don't really like it compared to my GNexus. A physical home button, really? And the back button is on the wrong side, It just seems wrong. The menu items seem really big also, but I guess that's the Samsung skin.